Japanese Shares Rise as BOJ Hikes Rates

2025-12-19 00:44 By Jam Kaimo Samonte 1 min. read

The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.03% to close at 49,507, while the broader Topix Index gained 0.8% to 3,384 on Friday, recouping losses from earlier in the week after the Bank of Japan delivered a widely expected interest rate hike.

The central bank raised benchmark rates by 25 basis points to 0.75%, the highest level since 1995 as inflation stayed above target for some time now.

Japan’s headline inflation eased slightly to 2.9% in November from 3% in October but stayed above the BOJ’s target for the 44th consecutive month.

Core inflation held steady at 3% during the same period.

Japanese equities also drew support from Wall Street, where cooler-than-expected US inflation data boosted expectations for further Federal Reserve rate cuts next year.

Gains were broad-based, with notable performers including SoftBank Group (up 6.1%), Fujikura (4.2%), Advantest (2.1%), Toyota (1.8%) and Sumitomo Mitsui (2.2%).

Still, the Nikkei and Topix indexes lost 2.64% and 1.17%, respectively, for the week.



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